Romanian energy authorities and power distribution companies are preparing for a significant electricity oversupply during the Easter holiday period, prompted by a marked reduction in national consumption and an unregulated surge in renewable energy production, particularly from prosumers, according to Economica.

On April 20, both Orthodox and Catholic Easter will be celebrated, and if the weather is sunny, the entire European energy system could face challenges, as there will be a simultaneous very high production of solar energy and an extremely low electricity consumption, making it extremely difficult to balance the system.

The situation poses operational challenges, especially given that consumption may fall as low as 2,500 MW during the extended Easter break, compared to typical daytime usage levels of 7,000–8,000 MW.

Romania’s Minister of Energy Bogdan Ivan highlighted the unpredictable nature of electricity input from prosumers — individuals and businesses generating electricity for personal use and selling surplus to the grid — whose total installed capacity is now estimated at 2,700 MW. "They are now a challenge," Ivan noted, referring to the difficulty in forecasting their power delivery, Economica reported on April 16.

In the weekend preceding Easter, national consumption dropped to 3,700 MW, a stark contrast to the country's usual nocturnal minimum of 4,000 MW and peak evening levels of up to 9,000 MW.

Anticipating further drops, distribution companies have issued special procedural instructions to the railway infrastructure operator, CFR, to prevent automatic shutdowns of transformer units, which could result in localised outages.

To manage the expected surplus, conventional energy producers are taking measures to adjust their operations.

The Cernavodă nuclear power plant will reduce reactor output by 20% to 40% for limited periods. Electrocentrale București will suspend electricity generation altogether, focusing solely on hot water production. Meanwhile, the Oltenia Energy Complex plans to run only two units with a combined output of 160 MW. Hidroelectrica is prepared to halt electricity production across all its facilities and, in an effort to absorb excess energy, may activate its Lotru pumping system, which would increase consumption by an additional 50 MW.

These coordinated measures aim to maintain grid stability and avoid supply disruptions during the period of low demand coinciding with the Easter observance.

An appeal will be made to electricity prosumers in Romania to turn off the inverters of their photovoltaic production installations on Easter Sunday, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said on April 15 after a meeting of the National Energy Command, quoted by Profit.

"Based on all the data we have analysed, there is no risk of blackout," Burduja stressed.

At the end of January, the total installed power of prosumer production systems in Romania amounted to over 2,440 MW, being higher than that of commercial photovoltaic parks, of 2,334 MW. Currently, some estimates from the system indicate the total power of prosumers at over 2,700 MW.